Lights OUT
After Ike hit Texas on Friday, it came like an aroused wraith in the night and by Sunday it had joined w/ a low pressure system moving across the Tri-State areas and gave us all a weather system we had never seen before. The winds topped out at about 85mph in some locations, and naturally, it took down trees, powerlines, and all sense of 'normal' life was gone w/in a matter of hours. While some people were watching the destruction left behind in Galveston, low and behold, Ike wanted to include them in his plans.
The first night w/out power has everyone scrambling to the stores to buy whatever they think they need for some major catastrophe. To their dismay, the store down the street had lost power as well. So did the one up the street... and down the way... and at your relatives house and so on. Without the constant traffic, it was an oddly serene night. The moon was bright and full and gave a sense of comfort only to those of us who knew there was no reason to panic.
As the morning approached we knew the most important thing was to get some ice and save our groceries. The ice was gone for miles and miles in every direction and only a handful of places that were open.
Second night w/out power and I notice that people are getting themselves and their families out of the house. Alot of people just straight up abandoned their homes to stay in the comfort of a friend or family members 'normal' home w/ all the comforts that electricity provides. Others actually got out and walked! I was amazed. I saw people that lived right next to me that I had never seen before. lol It was interesting, to say the least. Once again, the night was luminous from the full moon. I lit a fire in my fireplace and enjoyed the beauty and warmth from it, as well as the cool night air. I thought of world in the middle of a true crisis, and what it would be like, and my biggest fear was in the knowing how people would respond - by turning into panicky animals that have suddenly forgotten they have a brain.
Day 3 - A few gas stations open and are ferociously overwhelmed by the hoards of dysfunctional animals claiming to be human. The line of cars never cease and w/in several hours there is no longer any snack food, junk food, cigarettes, or GAS!!! OMG! Not the GAS!! Crisis has escalated.
I go to the super Walmart for the first time since "the crisis" and I'm just amazed at how empty the racks are. Of course, the entire refrigerated and frozen sections are completely empty but it seemed like people were stocking up on everything short of dish and laundry detergent. WTF?? I grabbed a bunch of ramen (yummm) and a couple jars of Goober p&j mix (YUMMM!) along w/ some bread and food for my kittehs and we're good to go. Later that night the power is restored to our place and I found a little sadness in the return of the artificially lit night.
There are still plenty w/out power, and down in Texas, plenty w/out homes. The power outage couldn't have hit at a better time for us. The days were pleasant and the nights were even better. Yes, alot of food was lost and it's definitely taking some time to stock all the stores up again. Has sanity returned? No. Many people will be talking about this as the worst thing that has ever happened to them and creating such a graphic scene in their mind that if it ever happens again, it will probably be worse. Even the THREAT of s/thing weather related happening is going to put them in a frenzy to buy everything they can and pay top dollar for the most amount of gas they can get. I'm sure for alot of people, it WAS the worst things that ever happened in their minuscule bubble of a 'safe' reality.
So, there ya have it. My little take on "the worst power outage to hit this area in recorded history". Be thankful it was just winds and trees that took out the electricity. It could always be far, far worse than you could ever imagine (or would ever WANT to imagine).
The first night w/out power has everyone scrambling to the stores to buy whatever they think they need for some major catastrophe. To their dismay, the store down the street had lost power as well. So did the one up the street... and down the way... and at your relatives house and so on. Without the constant traffic, it was an oddly serene night. The moon was bright and full and gave a sense of comfort only to those of us who knew there was no reason to panic.
As the morning approached we knew the most important thing was to get some ice and save our groceries. The ice was gone for miles and miles in every direction and only a handful of places that were open.
Second night w/out power and I notice that people are getting themselves and their families out of the house. Alot of people just straight up abandoned their homes to stay in the comfort of a friend or family members 'normal' home w/ all the comforts that electricity provides. Others actually got out and walked! I was amazed. I saw people that lived right next to me that I had never seen before. lol It was interesting, to say the least. Once again, the night was luminous from the full moon. I lit a fire in my fireplace and enjoyed the beauty and warmth from it, as well as the cool night air. I thought of world in the middle of a true crisis, and what it would be like, and my biggest fear was in the knowing how people would respond - by turning into panicky animals that have suddenly forgotten they have a brain.
Day 3 - A few gas stations open and are ferociously overwhelmed by the hoards of dysfunctional animals claiming to be human. The line of cars never cease and w/in several hours there is no longer any snack food, junk food, cigarettes, or GAS!!! OMG! Not the GAS!! Crisis has escalated.
I go to the super Walmart for the first time since "the crisis" and I'm just amazed at how empty the racks are. Of course, the entire refrigerated and frozen sections are completely empty but it seemed like people were stocking up on everything short of dish and laundry detergent. WTF?? I grabbed a bunch of ramen (yummm) and a couple jars of Goober p&j mix (YUMMM!) along w/ some bread and food for my kittehs and we're good to go. Later that night the power is restored to our place and I found a little sadness in the return of the artificially lit night.
There are still plenty w/out power, and down in Texas, plenty w/out homes. The power outage couldn't have hit at a better time for us. The days were pleasant and the nights were even better. Yes, alot of food was lost and it's definitely taking some time to stock all the stores up again. Has sanity returned? No. Many people will be talking about this as the worst thing that has ever happened to them and creating such a graphic scene in their mind that if it ever happens again, it will probably be worse. Even the THREAT of s/thing weather related happening is going to put them in a frenzy to buy everything they can and pay top dollar for the most amount of gas they can get. I'm sure for alot of people, it WAS the worst things that ever happened in their minuscule bubble of a 'safe' reality.
So, there ya have it. My little take on "the worst power outage to hit this area in recorded history". Be thankful it was just winds and trees that took out the electricity. It could always be far, far worse than you could ever imagine (or would ever WANT to imagine).